Kalimera, let's get it started!

In the past few weeks, since our weekly Wednesday team meetings have begun, we have gone through a couple of introductions to our research topic "Sixty Years After. Memory of Greek Civil War Refugees in Czechoslovakia, 1949-2009." With Greek language basics or Methods of Oral History still ahead us, we have already discovered much about Greek and Slavomacedonian minorities' life in Czechoslovakia. Mrs. Králová focuses her lectures (February 24 & March 17) on the aspects of the emigration, settlement, politics and integration while usefully exemplifying it on the questions we really shouldn't forget to ask our interviewees. The reality of refugees' life was also discussed in Mr. Tsivos' lecture (March 24), in addition to his main topic: Greeks and Slavo-Macedonians in the documents found in the Czech archives.

He was also the right person to give us a piece of advice and a little warning regarding Greek openness and hospitality: 1) our interviewees might be keen on inviting their Greek relatives or family friends and 2) they can talk for hours.

Put these two together and you may easily end up in the living room filled by half of the village, going through boxes of pictures and listening to the life stories for days and days (ok, a little exaggeration). Even though someone might be scared by this image, like a cut-out from Emir Kusturica's movie, speaking on behalf of the students, we just grew even more excited!

Markéta Sošťáková